Day 7 Last Day

Well it's the last day and we have most everything packed. I'm looking forward to being home and snuggling with my puppy and seeing everyone at church tomorrow. I am excited about seeing mom and dad tonight and w/ any luck Hannah and Paul will slip over and say hi when we arrive at the farm.

Our plane doesn't leave until 5:35pm so we are still trying to decide what to do. We have decided to leave our luggage at the hotel. Please pray about that! We have to carry our backpacks wh includes my laptop so I'm not sure if we are going to get to go in anywhere but I guess we will try. I have not visited the Library of Congress yet so evidently we are going to try that. It's almost 10 am and we are going to do our Bible Study and then head out for a couple of hours. I will not be able to add to this again until tonight or tomorrow...

Around 11am we checked out of the hotel and headed for the Library of Congress. I think our driver was surprised that the traffic was backed up. I think everyone was going to the Cherry Blossom Festival festivities. We heard on the radio that there was going to be a parade today. The Metro was pretty crowded also and most of the crowd got off at the station closest to the National Mall. We stayed on and exited near the capital. As we approached the Jefferson Building (one of the three Library of Congress buildings), we saw a large screen TV and heard some live music. There was a huge line waiting to get in past security. We got in line and enjoyed the band set up on the steps of the library. We talked to Ben Franklin and saw Thomas Jefferson. Evidently Clifford the Red Dog was there also but we didn’t see him. As we stood in line it began to rain. I held my rain coat over my head but it was kind of like Alan’s tent we used when we went to Kickapoo Park. If you touched the sides it began to leak through. The man in front of us shared his umbrella with Scott but I was watching the water drip down the umbrella on to Scott’s head. The band finished up and then they began reading poems. We were almost to the top when the rain let up. I took the coat down and the man behind me turned around to watch the poem readings and all the rain that had settled on the top of his umbrella ran down the back and all over my arm.

I was in awe when we walked in, the architecture was incredible! It was by far the most beautiful building we had been in yet. The first thing we saw were two Bibles that they had in special cases. One was the Gutenberg and the giant Bible of Mainz. After that we were allowed to go into the Reading Room which isn’t usually open to the public. From there we went to the Constitution Exhibit which had some of the original drafts of the Constitution. At the back of that exhibit, was the law library of Thomas Jefferson. He did some impressive reading!

In the basement, they wrapped up 4 special posters for me to take on the plane since I work in a library. They were posters of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Jackie Robinson, and Marilyn Monroe made out of fingerprints. They were interesting. After a quick spin around the gift shop we headed back to the Metro. We decided to get to the airport and get our luggage from the hotel and just have lunch at the airport. We called the hotel and they told us that our suitcases would be there in about 15 minutes after 30 minutes we had our suitcases and went through the entire process.

We are now sitting at the gate with full tummies watching the planes take off. It’s a great view! We are overlooking the Potomac and can even see the Capital Buildings. There are planes taking off every minute or two and we have a front row seat.

The plane ride home went very smoothly. I took some cool pictures of the mountains and it was all clouds after that. For all the pictures from today visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/asj693.comcast/WashingtonDC_Day7?authkey=8oCeQlyuWvw

Mom and Dad found us right away at the airport and we had a wonderful visit all the way home. It feels great to be home again! So ends a grand adventure! Thanks to all those who prayed for our safety and health and enjoyment!

Day 6 All Over the Place!!

Everything began a little slower this morning! But it turned out to be what I term a "Wissmiller" day. A whirlwind of events that only someone with the adrenal of a Wissmiller could appreciate! Scott got up at 7:30 but I fell back asleep until 8am. After getting ready and doing our Bible study we headed out. We got on the road about 9:30am which wasn't too bad b/c we missed the rush hour traffic until we got to the Metro. There was standing room only but we didn't have far to go. We were heading to the National Air and Space Museum. It was only a couple of blocks from the Metro and we found it right away. When you walk in the door you have to go through a metal detector and throw your bag into the X-Ray. We cleared and headed for a map. We started at the space exhibit. I buzzed through the entire exhibit and then went back to find Scott still reading every little sign. I decided to go buy us some IMAX tickets for 3-D Sun. When I got back we headed to the next exhibit (bypassing the few items from the American History Museum. Neither one of us wanted to wait in line to see the ruby red slippers for Wizard of Oz or the original Kermit the Frog puppet!) The next exhibit was the Wright Brothers exhibit and it was closed for renovations so we had to skip on to the history of flight exhibit and then onto the World War exhibits. After that we headed to the IMAX. As we entered they handed us 3-D glasses. That was fun b/c I've never seen a 3-D movie before. The photographs of the sun were incredible and the advancements in science were amazing. The data they are collecting is literally out of this world! :)

We were shocked at how small the museum was. After we visited the 3 story gift shop we decided to bypass the commercial airlines exhibit and have lunch on the National Mall. We had a $3.75 hotdog and a $3 lemonade outside while some little wrens approached begging for a scrap. I stupidly threw them a little of my bun. They were enjoying it when a little starling came to share. Then couple of pigeons joined the party and then they were all gone as a hawk swooped by chasing them down the National Mall. We decided it was time to head out. We decided our next stop would be to see some of the memorials again so we headed for the Washington Monument. As we were walking we wondered how we would do this. We were both tired and sore from yesterday. About two blocks from the Monument we saw a couple getting ready to hop on bikes. We inquired and found out there was a bike rental shop a couple of blocks from where we were. We headed for 12th Street just behind the Post Office. We rented bikes for two hours ($15 each). We grabbed a map and headed down Pennsylvania Avenue. I wanted to get pictures of the White House, but we soon discovered it was the last weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival and it was packed. I settled for seeing it from a couple of blocks away.

We again headed toward the Washington Monument, took some pictures and on to the WWII Memorial. It was packed. After paying our respects there we headed to the Korean Memorial. We really wanted to see Vietnam but it was a huge line and skinny sidewalks so we decided to move on. Off to the Potomac with the Jefferson Memorial in site. We went along the the waterfront and enjoyed the beauty of the fading Cherry Blossoms. We watched someone water skiing and kept looking up at the planes that kept flying over and by. We looked across the river and saw the Arlington House from afar. After that we made it to the Jefferson Memorial. We tried to ride around it but there was a talent show going on so we couldn't go all the way around. We had a half hour before we had to have the bikes back and we weren't quite certain how exactly to get back. We headed to the other side of the island keeping the Washington Monument in front of us. We quickly ended back to the Washington Mall and made our way to the bike shop. We were wiped out. We were thirsty and tired but had enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The Metro was right across the seat so we were going to hop on and head to Arlington. (Our original plan was to go there Saturday but there is suppose to be a big storm.) We ducked into a little food court connected to the Post Office to rehydrate ourselves. We drank about 3 drinks and did a little shopping and resting.

We headed for the Metro a little before 5pm. We took the Metro to Arlington and bought tickets for the tour bus. The tour bus would give us a tour of the cemetery and make a couple of stops. Our first stop was at the Kennedy graves. They were very crowded but the view was spectacular. I took pictures of the Arlington House and the men folding the flag at the house. Then I turned around and took pictures of the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Capital Building. As we drove through the cemetery I was in awe by the number of men that died so that we could be free. There were just rows and rows and rows and rows of markers. Everywhere we drove there were more and more. I could feel my heart in my throat as we continued to drive and here stories and information about these brave people. Our next stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Just seeing that grave site and thinking about all the sacrifices that were made is an indescribable feeling in itself but to watch the changing of the guard intensifies the feeling.

After that they dropped us off at Arlington House which was closed for the night but we still went behind it and looked at the view that showed even more than from the Kennedy's Graves. You could see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capital, the Pentagon building, to name a few. We were so wiped out, we just wanted to go home. We were dirty, sun burnt, starving, thirsty and our feet were killing us BUT it was all worth it! It had been an incredible day. We headed toward the Metro. We talked to someone from Minnesota that heard it had snowed there last night. On the Metro back we visited with some people from California and a man from Minnesota that had an apartment in Washington DC b/c he had to travel back and forth so much.

We waited for the Shuttle bus for 4o minutes and ordered Pizza Hut on the way back. By the time we had showered and settled in the pizza had arrived. We are now both collapsed wondering what we should do tomorrow...

The only two things that I wanted to see that we haven't were the Library of Congress and the Ford Theater. We still might go tomorrow but we are leaning toward just packing up and do a little swimming. Can't wait to see everyone on Sunday!! For more pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.com/asj693/WashingtonDC_Day6?authkey=-Qzhz4U2EC8

Day 5 Mount Vernon

I recognized Mount Vernon right away from a distance. I couldn't wait. When we got there I was amazed at the hills. I can't imagine what it took to farm that kind of land. We walked up the hill and came to the new tomb first. There were some monuments around the tomb of relatives but George and Martha's vaults were inside of a small building. After reading about their relatives and paying our respects at the grave we headed up to the mansion. We were distracted by many other buildings and signs. It was completely uphill climb but we finally reached the Mansion. It was after noon so we were going to eat but we looked at the line to tour the Mansion. It went from the Mansion down past the upper garden. We decided we should get in line for it first. The security guard told us that it would be about 45 minute wait. He kept stopping to talk to us as we moved throughout the line. We even ran into him later on our way to lunch and he talked to us some more. The mansion was definitely worth the wait. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the house but there was something special about being in the house of this great believer, leader and farmer. His home was that of a wealthy man. My favorite part was standing on the porch of his home and looking out to the Potomac. I could imagine the peace and contentment he would feel standing in that same place.

We ate at the food court and it cost us $24 for cheeseburger, fry and drink. Unreal! In the bookstore we bought a guide book and a magnet for our refrigerator. After that we hit the museum. There was a movie from the History Channel about how the bust of Washington was made it was narrated by an actress playing his granddaughter. It was really neat. We then got to see many of the items that either belonged to the Washingtons or were from the same time period.

After that we took the forest trail so that we could see the 16-sided barn. It was about a mile long and a beautiful walk even with not much green and still lots of brown leaves still on the ground from fall. I was surprised to see many of the same wildflowers. There were Spring Beauties, Violets, May Apple, and Wild Geranium to name a few. At the end of the walk, we reached the 16-sided barn. After seeing all of his planting experiments and farming studies, I'm convinced the man was a genus. We always here about him being a great leader but he doesn't seem to get a lot of publicity for his innovated ideas.

I was disappointed that we didn't see any horses but we didn't make it to the Old Mill which probably had a lot of the animals. To be honest, I'm not even sure where the Old Mill was. I think you had to actually leave the park to get there. I know that it also cost extra money. We did see sheep, goats and cattle.

To see all of our pictures go to our Picasa link. http://picasaweb.google.com/asj693/MtVernon_OldAlexandria?authkey=ZrbRkODVujE

On the boat ride home. I talked to a retired couple from Alabama most of the way back. It was very enjoyable. We shared the same interests in supporting our military and conservatism opinions. They have done a lot of traveling. They were going to a cousins funeral at Arlington Cemetery tomorrow. At the end of the ride, I found out that he had been an Apple dealer for a number of years. Our last couple minutes off the boat we talked about that.

We decided since we were in Old Alexandria we should have dinner there before we went back. We rode the free trolley down King Street to check out all the restaurants. We decided on Bugsy's Pizzeria which was right by the waterfront. We had pizza and then grabbed an ice cream cone then decided to walk a little ways while we finished those. We ended up a few blocks up near the Visitor's Center only 6 blocks from Christ's church. (The church that both Washington and Robert E Lee both attended.) They were closed but I still wanted to see it. By the time we finished that we never could catch a trolley so we walked all the way back to the Metro again. My feet and legs are cramping as I lie here typing this. When we got back I took a swim and jumped in the hot tub hoping that would be therapeutic. I hope I can walk tomorrow as we head down Washington DC...

Day 5 The Cruise

What a day! We began our day with a Bible study and then began our trek from then. We snagged the shuttle bus to the Ronald Reagon Airport and hopped the Metro to King Street. We were going to then take the free trolley to the waterfront but we found out that they did not start their route until 10am. We had to be at the Torpedo Factory by 10am. It was at least a mile to the waterfront so we began our hike. I think it was about 20 blocks but it wasn't bad. It was foggy and cold but the weather had said it was supposed to be 70 and we didn't want to carry extra stuff around Mount Vernon so I was in shorts and Scott in short sleeves. It was a cold walk and a very cold boat ride there!

After we arrived to the ticket booth, we couldn't buy tickets right away b/c their computer was not working. When we were finally able to buy tickets ($34 each w/ a $2 off coupon), we gave this foreign guy $70 and he typed it all in and tried to give us back $36 in change. I told him, he should only give us $6 and tried to explain it to him. The line was getting longer so he decided just to take our word for it, asking, "$6?" We went and sat by the loading dock, we would be the first on. We had about 20 minutes to kill so we just talked and enjoyed the foggy view of the Potomac River. Completely God's grace, Scott examined our tickets and noticed that they said, "Youth 6-11". We showed them to the crew members of the boat and they told us we would have to go take care of it. We went back to the ticket booth and pretty much cut to the front. The guy that waited on us earlier was sitting to the side this time and he pointed to us so I showed him the tickets. He immediately took them and said, "You very honest." and nodded his head approvingly. He got his supervisor who crossed out youth and put "adult" on the tickets. (I should explain the only reason it was a big deal was b/c it included our ticket to get into Mount Vernon.) He came out of the booth and gave us his business card and told us to show it to them if there were any problems.

Finally, we get to board the boat. We opt for the open deck, of course, we froze but neither of us could resist. There were not too many of us on the boat so some of us talked a bit. We would see each other off and on throughout Mount Vernon. It was kind of fun seeing a friendly face. It was about an hour and half trip. We did make a stop for half hour at a new development called Gaylord Harbor to pick up other passengers. Just under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge we crossed the border into Maryland. I'm not sure where they came from b/c I didn't see any buildings or hotels that were completed. One of the favorite things I saw were the ospreys. They were nested on almost every buoy.

Day 4

Today has been a quiet day. I caught the shuttle bus and I was the only one in there so he said he would drop me off by the hotel. I gave him a two dollar tip so he ended up dropping me right at the entrance of the hotel which was a nice change! Hopefully the ride home will be smooth!

The conference has been good but I will admit I'm having a hard time staying awake. I went to bed at 1 am and got up at 7 am so that Scott and I could put our Bible study first. I must confess I am finding myself a little envious of him having a nice relaxing day all to himself at the hotel! There are over 2,000 people here at the conference and probably half of them have a laptop. Each afternoon it was getting harder and harder to get an internet connection and this morning I had one for about 5 minutes. It's lunch break right now so I was finally able to get on. They provided lunch today. It was really nice. I had a cup of vegetable soup and a ham and cheese wrap. The best part was that I didn't have to spend any money.

Craighton told me he had been trying call American Airlines to make sure his flight wasn't canceled and no one ever answered. I hadn't heard that they evidently canceled over 800 flights because "American is cancelling a portion of its flights starting on April 8 to conduct additional inspections of its MD-80 fleet. " He still isn't sure so he will have to head to the airport early.

Scott and I have no plans for tonight so it might be a boring blog! It will probably depend on how tired I am and what the weather is doing. My last session doesn't end until 4:30 and all of the exhibits close at 5pm. Tomorrow we take our "cruise" to Mount Vernon on the Miss Christian! I can't wait!!

Day 3

It was fairly chilly today mostly in the forties but warmed up a little in the evening. I went to 4 sessions today and not one was a disappointment. Craighton and I had lunch together again just from the exhibits and I headed out at 2:30pm when I had another problem with the shuttle bus. The front desk told me again that the shuttle bus would be there in 10 minutes, twenty minutes later I called them and they said he left the airport 4 minutes ago. There is something weird going on! Anyway I won't bore you with the entire story. I'll skip right to the best part!

Corey, Melanie and Emma drove up from Williamsburg, Virginia to visit us. They showed up at the hotel around 3:30pm and we just sat around and caught up on the latest news. Arou 4:30pm we left for Union Station. It was nice to be in a car again! Corey did a great job of getting us there. He also gave ndus a bit of a tour of downtown DC. It was a fun way to see Washington DC for the first time with such great friends! Emma was a doll as usual. It was so much fun to get to spend some time getting to know her personality. She is so easy going and go with the flow (I wonder who she gets that from!). I felt bad b/c she was starting to get a cold and would sneeze and cough every once in a while. Melanie had been up late the night before b/c she is starting to teethe. You can see where the teeth are getting close to breaking through. When we arrived at Union Station we staked out the restaurant we were supposed to meet Craighton at, the Thunder Grill. It was so much fun just relaxing and having time to talk to other doctrinal believers. We talked about what each of us is listening to currently at church. Emma ate and we finally ordered some nachos waiting for Craighton.

Around 6pm Craighton arrived and after introductions to Corey, we ordered dinner. It was a good dinner but it went by too quickly. We had to be at the Trolley booth by 7pm. Melanie and Corey considered going but finally decided it would probably be too much for Emma. I think they made a good decision. Even though I loved the tour, it got to be very long and I was very tired by the end. We quickly hugged good-bye but I was really sad. I wish we would have had more time together.

At the moonlight tour we ended up on a bus with a driver and a tour guide. According to them it was the only bus that didn't have the driver be the tour guide. Our guide was great. He was funny and not only knowledgeable but was very passionate about our American history. He lost a grandfather and uncle in WWII and his father served for 45 years. The tour was fantastic but we saw so many things and heard so many stories that I couldn't begin to tell it all! We stopped and got out at the FDR Memorial, the Marine Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. My pictures are all from inside a vehicle or at night without a tripod or monopod so they are pretty disappointing. If you would like to see them, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/asj693/WashingtonDC_Day2?authkey=o8IbeeyClbM. I will try to add captions to them tomorrow. I loved seeing the Potomac and really enjoyed how the monument and many of the large memorials could often be seen from many different places and many different angles. I was also very moved by the different war memorials. I get chills looking at them and realizing that b/c of their sacrifices I am free today. We also enjoyed the cherry blossoms which I don't think will last much longer. They smelled so beautiful.

Trust in God

This morning we got to sleep in a little longer. I didn't get up until 7am which was nice. I slept fairly well last night. After my shower, Scott and I did about 30 minutes of a Bible study. The main point of the lesson was that you can always count on God. He's immutable. The funny thing is how quickly that can be forgotten as you are standing in the lobby waiting for a late shuttle bus that is completely messing up your agenda! :) I even said the right thing to Scott. I'm not going to freak out I'm going to trust God. Of course that is easier said than done!

My plan had been to catch the bus at 8:30am, hopefully the driver would be willing to drop me at the Hyatt Regency since they drive right by it and I could grab something free for breakfast in the lobby for the keynote speaker that would probably be very boring b/c it was about gaming in the library. Who needs gaming in a library?! :) When we get in, Scott asks the driver if he could drop me off near the Hyatt. The driver immediately recites his speech, "I'm sorry we can only drop off at the airport." I was definitely going to be late.

As Scott and I settle into the shuttle bus at 8:40am, I take a deep breath and settle back for the 10 minute ride. The driver takes a way I hadn't been yet. I look over at Interstate 395 and quickly realize it's the middle of rush hour. We take some back roads, he hops on the Interstate. I hold my breath as he tries to get off at the next exit, I'm sure the navy blue van behind us that had to come to a complete stop was saying some choice words unless of course he had impersonal love down to perfection.

We make it to Crystal Lake Road in about 20 minutes, about ten minutes before the speaker was to begin and I still had to get out of the airport and either take the Metro and walk about 6 blocks or try to hop on a Hyatt Shuttle bus. I took a deep breath and kicked myself and thought, "Why don't you just do what you told Scott you were going to do." So I sat back and thought, "God has this completely under control. Who cares if you miss some of the keynote. He knows so much better what my day will bring and where I need to be when." I
then decided to soak in as much of the city as I could and enjoy where God had me at that moment. I looked over and said to Scott, "There's my hotel, one block away, too bad I can't just jump out here!" We come to a red light and the driver tells me I can jump out if I want to! As Scott and the driver pulled away I smiled and waved my smile was completely genuine from in my soul thinking how perfectly things turn out when we trust Him. I had 8 minutes to grab some fruit or a bagel and head in to listen to the speaker.

Of course there was no food left but I figured God knew best so I went and found a seat - in the front with a table and a plug in for my computer. Almost like my guardian angel had skipped ahead of me and was holding my place. The funny thing was that it was 4 seats down from my boss. The keynote was fabulous and really opened my eyes. It was a group of 3 men from another library in another country who have been traveling around the states videotaping and interviewing different libraries. They showed us different clips. It was great. I'm starting to think the difference between the glass half empty or half full is a matter of your relationship with God and the current state of your soul. After the session, I ate two granola bars I had in my backpack and here I am waiting for the next session to begin...

Day 2

Today was long and intense. I attended 6 forty-five minute sessions. At 9 am, I listened to the keynote speaker, Lee Rainie, Director of Pew Internet & American Life Project. He mostly gave an overview of survey results of how Americans use the internet and libraries. Some of the findings were very interesting.

At our break I ran into Craighton, my boss, and we discussed the keynote session and upcoming sessions. At 10:30 am, I attended Web 2.o Services for Smaller Underfunded Libraries. I was a little disappointed in the session. I didn't feel like it was real informative for our situation. I perked back up at the 11:30 session by Jeff Wisniewski, Fast & Easy Site Tune-Ups. I got some great new ideas that our department will be interested in researching.

For lunch, Craighton and I just ate at the Exhibit Hall. We each got a ham sandwich on rye bread, an apple and a can of diet pepsi. It cost $13! As Craighton said, "You pay for convenience." We were afraid that if we went somewhere else for lunch we wouldn't make it back for the next session. Both of us had a session coming up that we were looking forward to attending. My next session was at 1:30pm entitled Library Web Presence: Engaging the Audience. It was a session done by two different groups and very informative. At the 2:30pm break I walked through the Exhibit Hall and put my business card in some bowls for various drawings.

Widgets, Tools, & Doodads for Library Webmasters was the next session at 3:15pm. It was very informative and I am very excited about going back and implementing some of their ideas. It wasn't necessarily my favorite conference but they were by far the best presenters - serious but also very entertaining. My last session began at 4:15pm (Library Staff Training: High Tech & High Touch) but I slipped out after about the first half hour because it really wasn't what I expected.

While I was in the conference, Melanie had left me a message that if they came to meet us Tuesday night instead of Friday, Corey could also come. We started to hatch plans and I told her I would call her back later. I made contact with Scott who had had a rough afternoon because he accidentally got on the wrong shuttle bus and went to the wrong hotel after his visit. He also lost his one week metro card that we had purchased last night.

At 6 pm we met Craighton at Neramita Thai. Scott and I had some problems connecting because he got out at the Hilton instead of the Hyatt Regency but finally met on the 2200 block on Crystal Drive. After dinner we stopped in at the Stone Cold Creamery. I remembered my first visit to a Stone Cold Creamery last fall in Springfield with Grandma, Janet, Dad, Mom, Alan, Bridget, Paul and Hannah. I remembered that Hannah got cotton candy ice cream with gumballs. It still makes me shiver to think about it! :)

After dessert, Craighton went back to his hotel and Scott and I walked a few blocks to the Crystal City metro station. We ran into the man who had helped us purchase the week passes the night before. We told him what had happened and he gave Scott some leftover cards people had passed on to him. He gave him about 4 cards with a couple of dollars each on them. It was God's grace. I had talked to Bridget earlier today and told her what had happened. I figured she had prayed about it! Thanks Bridget! We hopped on the metro which was kind of funny because it was about a two minute ride and then we got off again. As we were getting off of the metro, Scott called the hotel and they told him that the shuttle was just pulling up to Gate 5. He told them we would be right there. We ran part of the way and it wasn't there. I called the hotel and they told me we hadn't missed it that it was almost there. We waited for about 20 more minutes so I called again. I was told by guest services that he had left the airport but they were sending him back to pick us up. Then he put me on hold to talk to the driver and see how far away he was. I was on hold for 4:56 minutes so I hung up and called back. Another person at desk services told me that he had left the airport and was just pulling up to the hotel. He said that he would head straight back to the airport and be there in 10-15 minutes. Scott and I sat outside on a cement stump and I took dictation about his day so that we could type it later for his report.

Twenty minutes later the shuttle bus came. The two ladies that were on the bus with us this morning showed up at the last minute also. The driver was very friendly and we all had a nice chat. They were from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and had spent the day at the Washington Monument, the Holocaust Museum and the National Air and Space Museum. They said since the American History Museum was closed for renovations some of their exhibits were in the Air & Space Museum. They also asked us about the new Lincoln Museum in Springfield.

When we arrived back to the hotel at 9:30pm I called Melanie and we made plans for tomorrow. She and Corey are going to pick me (maybe Scott) up at the Hyatt Regency around 3:30pm and maybe drive me back to the hotel to dump off my laptop and pick up my camera. We might just stay at the hotel and visit for a while. The plan is to eventually end up at Union Station. Scott, Craighton and I have to be there by 7pm for the Moonlight Monuments Tour. We are going to all have dinner at 5:30pm in Union Station. Melanie and Corey will probably go home when we leave for the tour. Well it's after 10pm so I better get ready for tomorrow and get some sleep. Night!

Day 2 AM

I got up at 6:30 and took a shower, got ready and did some Bible study to start my morning right. After that Scott and I went down and had breakfast, hoping to catch the 8:30am shuttle. We would both take the blue line metro but I would get off sooner than he would.

My pastor has told this story about a plane that lost its landing gear and had to make an emergency landing and jokes that it is the way some of us will arrive in heaven! That’s kind of how I feel after my shuttle bus ride. The shuttle bus is suppose to leave every half hour and take us to the Ronald Reagan Airport to catch the Metro. The bus was really late which was to our advantage because we were expecting to catch the next one. We all kind of jumped in, Scott spilled his coffee right off the bat and the driver took off like a bat out of hell. I was in the very back and we were doing a lot of turning. I was struggling to keep my breakfast down. The driver kept telling us things but his accent was very thick and there was a lot of background noise. I kept asking Scott and the guy in the seat with him (chiropractor for Mt. Vernon, Illinois), “What?!”. They would just shrug their shoulders. At one point I looked up and saw the Crystal Gateway Marriott which was right next to the hotel my conference was in so I told Scott, “I think we are going right passed my hotel.” Scott asked the driver if I could be dropped off. The driver slammed on the brakes and said, “Why do you need to be dropped off here?” Then when he heard where we were going he said no it wasn’t the right place and took off again. We continued our roller coaster ride and he pulled up to a hotel and stopped hard again. At one point I commented to the chiropractor that I may need an adjustment. The driver started talking again and I told Scott I thought I was supposed to get out. The driver nodded his head and told me something about getting back, I think maybe he told me to take another shuttle to the airport to get back to the hotel but I’m not quite sure. Oh well, I’ll figure it out! I hopped out and told Scott to have a nice day. I registered quickly and am waiting for the conference to begin. More later…

Washington DC/ Arlington, Virginia Day 1

What a day! We spent Friday night and most of Saturday in St. Charles at my cousins wedding. It was fun but we didn't get home until 10 AM. Sunday morning we went to church and then ran home and finished some last minute packing, loaded up the truck and headed to mom and dad's for our ride to O'Hare.

Our trip started with great company. What a joy it is to spend an uninterrupted hour with not only close family but like-minded believers. We enjoyed discussing the lastest doctrines at church, the family news, all the details of the wedding the night before and also some casual, random discussions. They dropped us off at O'Hare at 2:35 pm exactly 2 hours before our flight was scheduled to leave. We used curbside check in (which cost $2 per bag plus tip) b/c that is what our boarding pass instructed. It was nice getting rid of the big suitcases right away. When we entered the airport we immediately got into line to go through the detectors and X-Ray machines. We took off our shoes, took out the laptop and emptied our pockets. Out of our 3 bags the only problem was the water bottle that I had inside of one. They were real nice and asked me if I wanted to go back out and finish it off. I just opted to have them throw it out.

Scott and I killed two hours at our gate and loaded the plane about 15 minutes after the estimated boarding time. B/c we had printed our boarding pass the night before (thanks mom!) we were in group 2 which got to load right after first class. We headed to our seats and got settled in. The plane took off about 15 minutes late but the pilot didn't even mention it. I don't think he was too concerned. The flight was fun. We flew all the way across Lake Michigan and then went above the clouds (there were a lot of them). For a while all we could see was clouds but at one time it cleared up and there were many hills and valleys. I think it must have been close to the Appalachians. We were about 20 minutes from DC so it seemed like the timing was right. The plane landed smoothly w/ hardly a bump. We were right next to the back of the wing so we enjoyed watching the science behind it all, especially when they put on the "brakes"! I was disappointed that we didn't get to see any of DC from above b/c of the clouds.

We hopped off the plane and picked up our luggage almost immediately. Then we decided to walk over to the Metro and figure out our ticket situation for the week. The man there was very helpful and recommended that we buy the week unlimited pass. It was $26.40 which we decided should be paid for itself by the end of the week possibly sooner. After purchasing these we headed back to the hotel shuttle bus pick up area and called the hotel. We sat outside and waited for about 10 minutes. By the time we reached the hotel and had a quick bite to eat it was 10 pm (we lost an hour when we hit eastern time). Our view out the window shows the Washington Monument and the Capital. We unloaded our bags and made plans for the next day! See you then! :)

For more pictures go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/asj693/WashingtonDC_Day1?authkey=60RE0lL4GJs